Wednesday, 27 January 2016

A monthly chronicle of films (features,
medium or shorts) seen throughout the current month from any source.
Commentaries will be limited to 99 words or less. Film festivals will be
hyperlinked. If time permits certain films will be elaborated on and be posted
under the label “Film Box Office” (100-399 words) or “Film Review” (400 or
more) (number of words based on English only).

Welcome to this House: A Film about Elizabeth Bishop, United States /
États-Unis 2015, 79m, Barbara Hammer

Elizabeth Bishop
(1911-1979, in Massachusetts) was an award-winning poet and short story writer.
Filmmaker Barbara Hammer takes us on a ‘cradle to grave’ journey exploring
Elizabeth Bishop’s quest for love and a place she could call home. Barbara
combines meticulous research with archival footage, readings from Elizabeth’s
poetry and short stories including photos of her paintings and commentaries
from those who knew her. This comprehensive and concise portrait reaffirms the
mystique behind this iconic literary figure.

An intense edge-of-your-seat
thriller recounting the courageous efforts of a six-member security team who
defended the American Diplomatic compound and nearby CIA Annex in Benghazi,
Libya from a terrorist attack on the night of September 11th, 2012.
In February of 2011, the United States deployed a covert presence in Benghazi
and in Tripoli. The attack by a well armed, organized and relentless group of
Islamic extremists resulted in the deaths of four Americans, including Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens. The first part of
the movie sets the stage for the attack. The second part is a ‘blow-by-blow’
account.

This adult-oriented stop-motion animation is
an original surrealist exploration of the issue of conformity versus
individualism. This is brought out by the fact that the
cast is made up of three voices – David Thewlis as Michael Stone, Jennifer Jason
Leigh as Lisa "Anomalisa" Hesselman and Tom Noonan as everyone else.
The result is a film that is dichotomist – it is both beautiful and disturbing.Self-help author Michael Stone is in
Cincinnati to give a lecture on ‘customer service.’ He perceives everyone else
as having the same voice and appearance. That is, until he meets
Lisa… a truly humane film.

Greta, an American, accepts
a well-paying job as a nanny for an eight-year-old boy in a remote country
mansion in the United Kingdom. It turns out that the ‘boy’ is actually a
porcelain doll named Bram, and that his parents were going on a ‘much needed’
vacation. With its classic gothic horror beginning, my expectations for an
eerie, chilling flic about the spirit of an angry child seeking revenge (as with
the Chucky series) were quite high. But, not long into the film, they came
crashing down – the plot was predictable and contrived, and the personalities
were not convincing.

David (45) lives with Maya, his wife of
Russian descent, and their two sons Sergei and Maxime. He works the night shift
at a nursing home. Haunted by his past, David copes as best as he can; scouring
thrift shops in search of things to repair. Maya collects designer toys, plays
video games and watches television all day. Their instability rises to the
surface when Maya plans to attend a design fair. The casting of Suzanne Clement
as Maya is a major flaw in this film – her strong French accent made her
unconvincing as a housewife of Russian extraction.

This human drama recounts the story of five
sisters – Lale (youngest), Nur, Ece, Selma and Sonay (eldest)
– who resist the traditional forced marriage. Unfolding as if it came from a personal
diary written by Lale, it begins as she bids an emotional farewell to her
teacher, who is moving to Istanbul.Instead
of taking the van to school, the sisters decide to walk to school. Along the
way, they stop to play ‘water games’ with a gang of boys. When they get home
both their grandmother and their uncle Erol are furious and their home becomes
a ‘training camp’.

Sunday, 10 January 2016

Lake Zirahuén is a small endorheic lake located in
the Municipality of Santa Clara del Cobre in Michoacán state in west-central
Mexico – a deep mountain lake with a sandy bottom partially covered with mud.
It is pristine with crystal clear blue water and surrounded by hills covered
with pine and oak trees. The activities are eclectic ranging from appreciating
its awe-inspiring view to mountain
climbing, swimming, walking, kayaking, hiking, bicycling and horseback riding.

There is a wide choice of places to stay and many gourmet restaurants overlook
the lake. One such place is the El
Alto Lucero (their web site is http://www.zirahuen-elaltolucero.com/) hosted by Alejandra
Terroba and Enrique Diazruanova. Enrique
is a multi-faceted artist whose two great loves are music and photography.
Below is a symphonic interpretation and slide show inspired by Lake Zirahuén. The music and images are by Enrique.

Nancy's Books are sold on Kindle or you can email her at hovecreekproductions@gmail.com

Beyond the Dream: Epic Solitude - Nancy's collection of Poetry & short stories. Contact hovecreekproductions@gmail.com or Click on image to read article. Here is the link to Martin Barry's article: http://martincbarry.weebly.com. Book is also available on Amazon Kindle

To purchase Nancy Snipper's books on Kindle,

Nancy Snipper's CDs available

Nancy Snipper is also an accomplished singer/songwriter – banjo player and classical pianist. Her three CDs have garnered much media praise along with her performances (Canada, Mexico, Cuba). Her voice is astoundingly beautiful – velvety in her blues numbers, sensual and sizzling in her folk, rock and country compositions. Now you can own one of her CDs. For enquiries about owning her CDs and/or booking performances contact her at this email: hovecreekproductions@gmail.com. Her CDs help raise money for cancer research.

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Collaborators / Collaborateurs:

Sylvain Richard

Nancy Snipper

Note / Nota:

July 10, 2016:The beginning of a new and exciting chapter! Nancy Snipper's (a.k.a S.N.) first posting on her own blog: http://sntravelandartswithoutborders.blogspot.ca/**********************************************To see all articles on a specific topic, scroll down to LABELS and click on desired LABEL. Full articles will appear one after the other that pertain to that label.Keep scrolling down to view more articles, and at end of page, click on OLDER POSTS to read more.Enjoy!